Franz von Hipper

Franz von Hipper (13 September 1863-25 May 1932) was an Admiral of the Imperial German Navy and the commander of the German Empire's High Seas fleet during the later stages of World War I, having succeeded Reinhard Scheer.

Biography
As commander of the German fleet's battlecruiser scouting group in December 1914, Hipper bombarded British coastal towns, including Scarborough, causing significant civilian casualties. The Royal Navy succeeded in engaging Hipper's group at the Doger Bank in January 1915, but he escaped with the loss of only one ship. At Jutland Hipper's battlecruisers again performed impressively, and in August 1918 he took over command of the German High Seas Fleet. While armistice negotiations were in progress in October, he gave orders for a final sortie to engage the British Grand Fleet, but this suicide mission was aborted when his sailors mutinied.